Question for parents of kids who prep

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kid is in 2nd grade. The kid is pretty smart, not genius level or anything, but he gets by. He’s incredibly creative, though, so I thought he would be a good fit for AAP. So, like all the parents in my neighborhood, I bought a couple of books over the summer and had him practice for 20 minutes a day until the test. I got the results—105 NV, 119 Q, 135 V. My kid has never been good at math or special reasoning, but I figured with enough prep he would figure it out. Well, he didn’t. He told me he could study 24 hours a day and still won’t be able to flip an image in his head. How do parents prep their kids to overcome an inmate lack of aptitude in math or spatial reasoning?

A lot of these posters will try to discourage you. Their goal is to thin the herd. They aren't being honest. The books won't cut it for most kids and having a parent do it is also not ideal. If you're serious, check out one of the prep centers. These places are packed so despite their denials many kids are there prepping for this test.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Any test can absolutely be prepped. But to be really effective you’d have to plan for long term over years to introduce and solidify concepts. The brain, especially at that age is really maleable and plastic. Of course the child needs to have some ability on his own, but a 50 percentile average student can easily get to the 90th percentile with appropriate instruction and practice in less than 2 years. It won’t happen in a month if this is what you understand by prepping.

To the posters that think it’s impossible, just look up how intelligence tests are developed, what kind of subject matter is tested, it can be learned.

I do however question how useful it is to put that much effort into it though. I think your child would be better off learning actual math, reading, doing sports or just developing hobbies and interests.

At that point, doesn’t it qualify as enrichment? Spending years molding an average child into a bright one, I mean. Or are you talking about signing up 3 and 4 year olds for CoGat boot camps? I think most “prep” looks more like what OP described—workbooks for a few weeks/months at months. Years of prepping seems like an extreme outlier.

i know many who did years of Kumon and Mathnasium.

Lots of people do Kumon and Mathnasium but, as PP said, that's more about general math enrichment than prepping for the CogAT specifically.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kid is in 2nd grade. The kid is pretty smart, not genius level or anything, but he gets by. He’s incredibly creative, though, so I thought he would be a good fit for AAP. So, like all the parents in my neighborhood, I bought a couple of books over the summer and had him practice for 20 minutes a day until the test. I got the results—105 NV, 119 Q, 135 V. My kid has never been good at math or special reasoning, but I figured with enough prep he would figure it out. Well, he didn’t. He told me he could study 24 hours a day and still won’t be able to flip an image in his head. How do parents prep their kids to overcome an inmate lack of aptitude in math or spatial reasoning?

Your child isn't entitled to be in AAP just because you think he's incredibly creative. My child is incredibly creative, too, sweetie, but she also is just slightly above average in all the assessments. If AAP was a truly "gifted" program, then sure maybe your creative kid could get in, but it's not, it's ADVANCED ACADEMICS which is very different from gifted. VERY DIFFERENT. People here don't realize that. THERE IS NOT A GIFTED PROGRAM IN FCPS. There's just a "my kid is smarter and does better on tests than yours" program.

[Anonymous]

I think the real secret here is that the families that prep are likely the families that are just...very very smart and invested in educational achievement and have been this way since Day 1 and have seen dividends pay off already so they know it's a fair and safe bet that prepping will take what would have been an amazing score and turn it into an amaaaaaazing score.

So...I guess the answer is you don't. Your kid sounds self-aware which is great.

[Anonymous]

We prepped our kids because I knew that without the program it would be a disaster. Honestly they probably would have gotten in without it but I wasn't taking any chances. All are at the top of their classes in a high SES school. It still isn't challenging at all but the kids are challenged with math and science extracurriculars. No regrets.

I encourage everyone to do what they need to do so their child can get the education that is best for them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Any test can absolutely be prepped. But to be really effective you’d have to plan for long term over years to introduce and solidify concepts. The brain, especially at that age is really maleable and plastic. Of course the child needs to have some ability on his own, but a 50 percentile average student can easily get to the 90th percentile with appropriate instruction and practice in less than 2 years. It won’t happen in a month if this is what you understand by prepping.

To the posters that think it’s impossible, just look up how intelligence tests are developed, what kind of subject matter is tested, it can be learned.

I do however question how useful it is to put that much effort into it though. I think your child would be better off learning actual math, reading, doing sports or just developing hobbies and interests.

At that point, doesn’t it qualify as enrichment? Spending years molding an average child into a bright one, I mean. Or are you talking about signing up 3 and 4 year olds for CoGat boot camps? I think most “prep” looks more like what OP described—workbooks for a few weeks/months at months. Years of prepping seems like an extreme outlier.

i know many who did years of Kumon and Mathnasium.

Lots of people do Kumon and Mathnasium but, as PP said, that's more about general math enrichment than prepping for the CogAT specifically.

I apparently live a sheltered life because I know exactly no one whose kids do either, unless it's on the down low.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Any test can absolutely be prepped. But to be really effective you’d have to plan for long term over years to introduce and solidify concepts. The brain, especially at that age is really maleable and plastic. Of course the child needs to have some ability on his own, but a 50 percentile average student can easily get to the 90th percentile with appropriate instruction and practice in less than 2 years. It won’t happen in a month if this is what you understand by prepping.

To the posters that think it’s impossible, just look up how intelligence tests are developed, what kind of subject matter is tested, it can be learned.

I do however question how useful it is to put that much effort into it though. I think your child would be better off learning actual math, reading, doing sports or just developing hobbies and interests.

At that point, doesn’t it qualify as enrichment? Spending years molding an average child into a bright one, I mean. Or are you talking about signing up 3 and 4 year olds for CoGat boot camps? I think most “prep” looks more like what OP described—workbooks for a few weeks/months at months. Years of prepping seems like an extreme outlier.

Don't know but Curie offers classes starting at grade 1.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think the real secret here is that the families that prep are likely the families that are just...very very smart and invested in educational achievement and have been this way since Day 1 and have seen dividends pay off already so they know it's a fair and safe bet that prepping will take what would have been an amazing score and turn it into an amaaaaaazing score.

So...I guess the answer is you don't. Your kid sounds self-aware which is great.

He spends every waking hour writing, producing, directing, and filming little movies. He is obsessed with film and wants to be a director. But he’s just okay at math, and ask him to recognize a mirror image or turn a pentagon ninety degrees in his head…fuggetaboutit. I mostly want him in advanced LA but it seems they only offer accelerated math to kids who aren’t in LLV. My wife thinks he’ll fine either way. I agree. Still. 🤷🏻‍♂️

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Any test can absolutely be prepped. But to be really effective you’d have to plan for long term over years to introduce and solidify concepts. The brain, especially at that age is really maleable and plastic. Of course the child needs to have some ability on his own, but a 50 percentile average student can easily get to the 90th percentile with appropriate instruction and practice in less than 2 years. It won’t happen in a month if this is what you understand by prepping.

To the posters that think it’s impossible, just look up how intelligence tests are developed, what kind of subject matter is tested, it can be learned.

I do however question how useful it is to put that much effort into it though. I think your child would be better off learning actual math, reading, doing sports or just developing hobbies and interests.

At that point, doesn’t it qualify as enrichment? Spending years molding an average child into a bright one, I mean. Or are you talking about signing up 3 and 4 year olds for CoGat boot camps? I think most “prep” looks more like what OP described—workbooks for a few weeks/months at months. Years of prepping seems like an extreme outlier.

i know many who did years of Kumon and Mathnasium.

Lots of people do Kumon and Mathnasium but, as PP said, that's more about general math enrichment than prepping for the CogAT specifically.

I apparently live a sheltered life because I know exactly no one whose kids do either, unless it's on the down low.

At least 1/4 of DS’s class goes to RSM or Mathnasium and we are not in an AAP obsessed school. Most of the kids selected for LIV stay at the school and we have a cluster model for LLIV so they are not staying because their kids will be in a LLIV class. And those are the kids we know of because we are friends with the families or they have talked about it at school, there might be more. We have a Sylvan learning center walking distance from us that seems to be busy enough.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid is in 2nd grade. The kid is pretty smart, not genius level or anything, but he gets by. He’s incredibly creative, though, so I thought he would be a good fit for AAP. So, like all the parents in my neighborhood, I bought a couple of books over the summer and had him practice for 20 minutes a day until the test. I got the results—105 NV, 119 Q, 135 V. My kid has never been good at math or special reasoning, but I figured with enough prep he would figure it out. Well, he didn’t. He told me he could study 24 hours a day and still won’t be able to flip an image in his head. How do parents prep their kids to overcome an inmate lack of aptitude in math or spatial reasoning?

A lot of these posters will try to discourage you. Their goal is to thin the herd. They aren't being honest. The books won't cut it for most kids and having a parent do it is also not ideal. If you're serious, check out one of the prep centers. These places are packed so despite their denials many kids are there prepping for this test.

What centers prep for COGAT?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Any test can absolutely be prepped. But to be really effective you’d have to plan for long term over years to introduce and solidify concepts. The brain, especially at that age is really maleable and plastic. Of course the child needs to have some ability on his own, but a 50 percentile average student can easily get to the 90th percentile with appropriate instruction and practice in less than 2 years. It won’t happen in a month if this is what you understand by prepping.

To the posters that think it’s impossible, just look up how intelligence tests are developed, what kind of subject matter is tested, it can be learned.

I do however question how useful it is to put that much effort into it though. I think your child would be better off learning actual math, reading, doing sports or just developing hobbies and interests.

At that point, doesn’t it qualify as enrichment? Spending years molding an average child into a bright one, I mean. Or are you talking about signing up 3 and 4 year olds for CoGat boot camps? I think most “prep” looks more like what OP described—workbooks for a few weeks/months at months. Years of prepping seems like an extreme outlier.

i know many who did years of Kumon and Mathnasium.

Lots of people do Kumon and Mathnasium but, as PP said, that's more about general math enrichment than prepping for the CogAT specifically.

I apparently live a sheltered life because I know exactly no one whose kids do either, unless it's on the down low.

At least 1/4 of DS’s class goes to RSM or Mathnasium and we are not in an AAP obsessed school. Most of the kids selected for LIV stay at the school and we have a cluster model for LLIV so they are not staying because their kids will be in a LLIV class. And those are the kids we know of because we are friends with the families or they have talked about it at school, there might be more. We have a Sylvan learning center walking distance from us that seems to be busy enough.

Same. But we're at a Title I school, so a lot of this is about finding ways to keep kids challenged when their classes are heavily focused on remediation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid is in 2nd grade. The kid is pretty smart, not genius level or anything, but he gets by. He’s incredibly creative, though, so I thought he would be a good fit for AAP. So, like all the parents in my neighborhood, I bought a couple of books over the summer and had him practice for 20 minutes a day until the test. I got the results—105 NV, 119 Q, 135 V. My kid has never been good at math or special reasoning, but I figured with enough prep he would figure it out. Well, he didn’t. He told me he could study 24 hours a day and still won’t be able to flip an image in his head. How do parents prep their kids to overcome an inmate lack of aptitude in math or spatial reasoning?

A lot of these posters will try to discourage you. Their goal is to thin the herd. They aren't being honest. The books won't cut it for most kids and having a parent do it is also not ideal. If you're serious, check out one of the prep centers. These places are packed so despite their denials many kids are there prepping for this test.

What centers prep for COGAT?

That post is nonsense. Don't feed them.

[Anonymous]

Maybe GenEd is the right fit for him? My oldest went thru gen Ed. She was denied AAP in 5th when I realized that you had to apply. She’s now MS all honors and doing great. It’s not as bad as you think

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid is in 2nd grade. The kid is pretty smart, not genius level or anything, but he gets by. He’s incredibly creative, though, so I thought he would be a good fit for AAP. So, like all the parents in my neighborhood, I bought a couple of books over the summer and had him practice for 20 minutes a day until the test. I got the results—105 NV, 119 Q, 135 V. My kid has never been good at math or special reasoning, but I figured with enough prep he would figure it out. Well, he didn’t. He told me he could study 24 hours a day and still won’t be able to flip an image in his head. How do parents prep their kids to overcome an inmate lack of aptitude in math or spatial reasoning?

A lot of these posters will try to discourage you. Their goal is to thin the herd. They aren't being honest. The books won't cut it for most kids and having a parent do it is also not ideal. If you're serious, check out one of the prep centers. These places are packed so despite their denials many kids are there prepping for this test.

What centers prep for COGAT?

All of them

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid is in 2nd grade. The kid is pretty smart, not genius level or anything, but he gets by. He’s incredibly creative, though, so I thought he would be a good fit for AAP. So, like all the parents in my neighborhood, I bought a couple of books over the summer and had him practice for 20 minutes a day until the test. I got the results—105 NV, 119 Q, 135 V. My kid has never been good at math or special reasoning, but I figured with enough prep he would figure it out. Well, he didn’t. He told me he could study 24 hours a day and still won’t be able to flip an image in his head. How do parents prep their kids to overcome an inmate lack of aptitude in math or spatial reasoning?

A lot of these posters will try to discourage you. Their goal is to thin the herd. They aren't being honest. The books won't cut it for most kids and having a parent do it is also not ideal. If you're serious, check out one of the prep centers. These places are packed so despite their denials many kids are there prepping for this test.

+1000